The full-service pumps at 340 S. County Road have been quiet since June 28. The boutique next door went dark a month before that. Down the block, the old Le Bar a Vin building has a new name and an approved site plan. Inside the Church Mouse, a coffee counter is waiting on an opening date. Most of the storefronts facing Palm Beach Town Hall are partway through a change at the same time.
Taken one at a time, these look like a run of unrelated openings. Put them in order and a pattern shows up. Most of this block is being restored. The station is going back to its 1950s look. The boutique is coming back in its own building. The new pieces are slipping in beside businesses the island has used for decades. The pace for the north end of the block is coming from one owner, who bought two neighboring buildings and publicly set out a schedule that runs into January.
Two Buildings, One Owner, One Stated Purpose
In March 2025, a Delaware LLC named for the station's address bought Gray's Sunoco for $11.94 million. Palm Beach Daily News reported that the deed was recorded March 20. That company is managed by Armata Holdings Management Corp., which is controlled by real estate investor Alex Griswold. Griswold grew up in Palm Beach and recently stepped down from the town's Landmarks Preservation Commission. He told the Town Council the purchase happened after he and a larger group of residents pooled money when the station was rumored to be for sale.
The second purchase came this spring. A separate Griswold-controlled entity, 336 S County LLC, paid a recorded $9.5 million for the commercial building immediately north of the station. That building has long been home to the fashion retailer C. Orrico. The deed was recorded June 5.
Griswold has described the station project as preservation. "When you grow up in a place like Palm Beach, you feel a deep sense of obligation to protect what makes it special," he told the Daily News. He also gave a smaller reason. "I grew up filling my bike tires at the station and getting candy bars after school."
The Station Is Going Back to 1956
There has been a gas station near this site since the early 20th century, and the current building opened in 1956. The Gray family took over the station lease in 1979 and bought the land and building in 1986. While they ran it, the station flew the Gulf flag, then BP from 1989, then Mobil, and finally Sunoco.
The renovation undoes a later layer of that history. On Dec. 7, 2025, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a mid-century modern redesign of the station at 340 S. County Road, near Australian Avenue. Commissioners also endorsed a zoning variance tied to floodplain elevation requirements. Under the plans described by the Daily News, these are the visible changes:
- The S-type Mediterranean roof tiles come off, and a flat roof goes back on to match the original building.
- The exterior is painted white, with white porcelain tile on some sections and green-and-white detailing.
- One of the four garage stalls becomes retail space, adding 1,094 square feet to the convenience store.
- The remaining three bays get paneled-glass doors that match the store's new windows.
- The fuel systems are upgraded with new pumps.
Some things stay the same. The station will remain full-service, with attendants pumping gas, which is one of the rarest offerings in Florida. Vehicle service is getting slightly smaller but keeps tire nail removal, oil changes and diagnostics. Griswold said the new operators would keep paying the station's employees during the closure, so the familiar faces at the pumps should return with it. One thing does change. The name Gray's Sunoco is retired, and the station reopens as Palm Petrol.
The Calendar, Address by Address
Every storefront on the block has its own timing. Here is the schedule as reported, in date order, with the gaps left in.
| Address | Business | What's planned | Stated timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 340 S. County Road | Palm Petrol, formerly Gray's Sunoco | Gas service resumes | Oct. 1, per the owner's June schedule |
| 340 S. County Road | Palm Petrol | Vehicle service shop reopens | Nov. 1 |
| 336 S. County Road | C. Orrico | Returns in a smaller space in the same building | November 2026 |
| 340 S. County Road | Palm Petrol | Expanded convenience store opens | Dec. 1 |
| 340 S. County Road | Palm Petrol | Grand opening celebration | January |
| 378 S. County Road | Church Mouse coffee counter | To-go coffee inside the shop | No date announced |
| 380 S. County Road | George x Avenue 31 | Two-floor restaurant with a nightclub component | No date announced |
The Palm Petrol dates are the schedule Griswold gave the Daily News in June. He said then that he expected the whole project to be finished by the end of the year. The most recent dated report on the station's operating status that we found was from July 16, when the Daily News said the station would be closed "until at least October." We have not seen public confirmation that the pumps actually restarted on Oct. 1.
C. Orrico's timing has two sources. In June, co-owner Kathie Orrico told the Daily News that the boutique would return in November in a smaller space in the same building. The C. Orrico website lists the 336 South County Road shop as closed until November 2026.
Filling Up Off-Island Until the Pumps Are Confirmed
While the station has been closed, the Daily News noted that residents, workers and household staff have had to cross the bridges for fuel. The paper sorted the nearest options by bridge:
| Bridge | Nearby stations |
|---|---|
| Flagler Memorial | Marathon, 900 N. Dixie Highway; Chevron, 1229 N. Dixie Highway |
| Royal Park | Exxon, 2615 S. Dixie Highway; BP, 701 Belvedere Road |
| Southern Boulevard | 7-Eleven, 301 Southern Blvd.; Marathon, 4000 S. Dixie Highway |
| Lake Worth | Chevron, 102 N. Federal Highway, Lake Worth Beach; Orion Fuels, 401 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach |
All of the Flagler, Royal Park and Southern Boulevard listings are in West Palm Beach.
What the Expanded Store May Stock
Griswold said the larger convenience store will carry the usual candy, snacks and drinks. Alongside them will be a curated selection of gifts, baked goods, wine and specialty items, focused on long-established local purveyors.
A second account adds a name to that picture. In September, the Altima Caviar roundup reported that Gab's Organics, led by Chef Gabrielle, is reimagining "the island's historic Sunoco." The roundup describes fuel paired with morning coffee, chef-driven grab-and-go meals, sourced snacks and beach picnic supplies. The Daily News has profiled the chef, Gabrielle Coniglio, as a Palm Beach native and New Orleans-trained chef whose family has long been involved in area restaurants. The June plans for Palm Petrol do not name Gab's Organics. We found no source spelling out how the two fit together, so the Dec. 1 store opening is the date to watch for the answer.
South of the Station, the Rest of the Block
Buccan Sandwich Shop sits at 350 S. County Road. Its chef-partner is Clay Conley, a multiple-time James Beard Award nominee, and the shop makes as much as it can in house, right down to the bread and the potato chips. It is the one address on this stretch that is not being renovated, reopened or renamed this season.
At 378 S. County Road, the Church Mouse is adding something new while staying itself. The secondhand shop is owned by the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, and it is adding a small coffee counter. Proceeds will support the church's outreach. The counter is take-away only, with no seating, and no opening date has been announced. Local reporting names Pumphouse Coffee Roasters as the supplier.
380 S. County Road is the one true change of concept on the block. Le Bar a Vin opened in the building in December 2020. It closed in June 2022 for a remodel, and the Daily News reported it operating again by March 2024 with a menu developed with chef Antonio Mellino. On Oct. 7, the Daily News reported that the Town Council had approved site plans for George x Avenue 31. It is a Mediterranean-themed spot that serves food, has a nightclub component and spans two floors. The Avenue 31 site lists Palm Beach as its newest location after the original in Monte-Carlo. A Town Development Review agenda lists a review of a draft declaration-of-use agreement for the property as its next public step. The approval terms, hours and operators have not been reported.
The Same Approach a Few Blocks North
At 151 N. County Road, Green's Pharmacy and Luncheonette is following a similar plan this season. Hamptons-based White's Apothecary will take over the pharmacy and retail side and is expected to bring more upscale brands. The Green's name, the green-and-white striped awnings and the breakfast-and-lunch counter stay. CS Ventures bought the building and business in May 2025 and brought members of the Green family in as investors. "Green's is not closing, and the luncheonette isn't going anywhere," co-founder Spencer Schlager told the Daily News.
On County Road this season, a change in ownership has mostly meant restoring a familiar business. The next dates to watch are Nov. 1 for the Palm Petrol service bays and November for C. Orrico.
Changes on blocks like this one feed into how the island's commercial and residential properties are valued. If you'd like to talk through what this season's openings mean for a home you own or are considering in Palm Beach, Debbie Gross is glad to share what she's seeing. Schedule a Free Consultation.
